Bird feeding/Watching

[MauEvig]

Does anyone else on here feed birds and watch them during the summer? I figured the summer forums would be a good spot for this since bird watching is usually something people do in the Spring and Summer when it's nicer out and the birds fly north, while in Fall they fly south for the Winter. I started getting into the hobby when I moved down here. I would have liked to have done this living with my Grandma, but since she had cats that went outside, it wasn't a good idea. Attracting birds would basically be bait for the cats to get a nice meal out of it.
However, now that I live down here in the South, our cats are inside completely. So this means I can feed the birds, my boyfriend and I can be entertained by them, and they can also provide a show for the cats who go completely nuts over them:
https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hph ... 6784_o.jpg
I find the birds quite delightful to watch. I tried making my own feeder last year but it turned out to be a flop. Maybe it was just the materials, but I thought it was possible to make a feeder out of a pop bottle and use plastic silverware for the tip so the birds could eat off of it. But the birds basically ignored it and went on their way. I did get a cheap Hummingbird feeder and that turned out successful...a little too much in fact. I kept having to change that thing all the time because it was so small and there were lots of little hungry hummers out there. This year however, I have upgraded to a larger one I plan to put out soon as the weather gets warmer.
I also got myself a nice cheap feeder at Walmart, and the birds love it! They've been flocking to my feeder quite a bit. Some of the feed got spilled so I decided to move the feeder, I just hope the birds don't mind too much, even though I like a good window seat. A cardinal however decided to take advantage of it and eat some of the seeds on the ground. I tried to get a decent picture, but it was hurried and a little blurred, not to mention it was through the window.
I have however been trying to take some decent bird photos while it was in the window. I'm trying the tree to see if it might be better mess wise, but I don't know yet.
Here's a photo of one of the sparrows that came up to it: https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hph ... 4892_o.jpg
I just love nature, and having the bird feeders is one of the ways I can contribute to and appreciate nature and watch it in action.
I also got a little bird house, but I haven't had any birds move into it yet. It was a cute one I got at the festival and shaped like a little barn. Perfect for the country.
I'll probably post more decent photos of the birds later.
Does anyone else do this? Please discuss, and if you have any suggestions, advice, or can help me identify some birds, that'd be great too.

[NeverMore]

Does anyone else on here feed birds and watch them during the summer?

There's a huge hawk living in one of the palm trees across the street. Easily big enough to carry away a cat. Very fascinating to watch him dive at the ground and grab a rodent. Now if I could only get him to specifically target groundhogs. Where's Carl Spackler when you need him?

I also get tons of humming birds here. Some will fly right up to you and take food from your fingers.

[MauEvig]

I've seen vultures here and I may have seen some hawks. Another good reason for me to keep my pets inside! If they would just eat the mice before they came inside, but at least the cats are doing their part and catching them.

That's pretty cool that the little hummers will fly up to your hand. I've seen videos of them doing that, but I think once the hummers see me they fly away. I must look scary to them or something.

[Boogeyman]

Or the scent of your cats.

[MauEvig]

This is true. If the hummers pick up on the scent of my cats, that might be enough to scare them away lol.

It doesn't help that I mistook a hummer for a bee once. Since I'm allergic to bees I flipped out and scared the poor hummer. Felt pretty bad about that.

[Pumpkin_Man]

I would just assume not have birds around my yard. I built a bird house and hung it up in a tree when I lived in Chicago. It was fun for a while, but then our cat got up there and maid a 7 corse meal out of them.

My neighbor has a large store bought bird house on a poll in his back yard and the crows took it over. They almost pecked out his grand daughter's eye once so he got rid of it. Because of crows, any kind of a bird feeder or bird house is just not a good idea.

Another neighbor of mine, years ago had a nest of blue jays in his tree and those birds are mean, too. My older brother got pecked in the forehead and had to have stitches.

Mike

[MauEvig]

Sorry about all the problems you've had with them in the past, and I can't say I blame you. I saw a few black birds, but otherwise I haven't had any problems with Blue jays or Crows, and although I've seen a few, it's mostly been sparrows. I have heard about Blue Jays pecking at people and their pets.

Crows really can be problematic if they are a problem in your area. I've also heard not to use suet because it attracts bears.

Definitely don't want to have a bird feeder if you have outdoor cats both for the reason that the cats could eat the birds, or that the cats could get severely pecked in the eyes by birds like the Blue Jays. Thankfully mine are indoor only.

I guess there's a lot of rules that apply to having a bird feeder, but for me I just enjoy having the little sparrows, cardinals and hummers come by. Those are pretty harmless from what I've encountered. If I have any problems with "problem birds" I will try to find a solution without having to give up on the bird feeders.

[Pumpkin_Man]

Our town is plagued by crows. At very early twilight, just as the sky is starting to get a little brighter, you can hear thousands of them cawing. One time I was out side while they where flying around. The sky was literally full of them, and it started "raining" if you know what I mean.

[MauEvig]

I know what you mean because I lived near a town like that when I was in New York. The town I was in wasn't too bad but there were a lot of crows there as well. But just 5 minutes into the bigger town where Walmart and all the main grocery stores were, there were tons of crows.
Now I do like crows, but having swarms of them like that is a problem, just like in New York City I heard there's a large pigeon problem. Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with that. Only the occasional mourning dove, and those were pretty to look at anyway.
A huge buzzard decided to hang out near the dumpster at work, that was quite a site to see. Tried to get a picture of it with my phone, but it looked like a tiny speck. When I learned out to zoom in on my phone, it flew away. I wish I had my camera at the time.
Let me know if you can spot it: https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 4640_n.jpg

[Pumpkin_Man]

I actually did spot it. He had his back turned to you. Buzzards are scary looking birds, too.

Crows aren't our only problem, though. We are also being over run by squirrels and rabbits. It's almost impossible for anyone to grow a vegetable garden because the squirrels and rabbits make very short work of it.

Mike

[Boogeyman]

Our town is plagued by crows. At very early twilight, just as the sky is starting to get a little brighter, you can hear thousands of them cawing. One time I was out side while they where flying around. The sky was literally full of them, and it started "raining" if you know what I mean.

I was bombed by a seagull once. It was on the beach in Escanaba, MI which is in the U.P. I had to ride in the car like that until we reached Eagle River, WI. That is about 130 miles in the summer heat with that in my hair. Longest trip ever!!!!

[Pumpkin_Man]

I hate when that happens, and those crows often "bomb" my car every morning. It's down right disgusting.

As for seagulls, I use to have a ball when I was a kid feeding them. I would toss a soda cracker or any kind of food up in the air and they would all flock to get something to eat.

Mike

[Boogeyman]

That is what I was doing when the stupid bird bombed me.

[MauEvig]

The hummers are finally here! I started hearing them outside the window the other day and I thought they were a wasp flying around that I couldn't see or was well hidden, until this evening I saw one fly up to the feeder!

Really excited to see the hummingbirds finally come back after a long winter! If I can get the camera in time, I'll try to snap a shot of them.

[Spookymufu]

The hummers are finally here!

WHHOOO HOOO!!!!!!!

oh wait a sec.........never mind